you got me baby and i got you
by lydiastilinskio
Summary: "See, I told you," Finn whispered halfway through the movie. Rachel lifted her head from his shoulder and looked up at him quizzically, a question in her eyes. He looked around the room at their kids: Ethan sprawled out on the floor, Luke playing with his phone, Nicholas doing a puzzle and Aria snuggling with Sophia on the couch, Finn smiled at his wife. "Finchel babies." AU!Future


**_you got me baby and i got you_  
**

**One.**

"If she makes us change her twin's diapers again, I'm so dropping this class," Santana says aloud before turning her attention back to her nails. It was parenting class, and it was a popular opinion that Mrs. Williams didn't like to actually teach – rather brag about her kids, and using them for demonstrations.

"Good morning class," Mrs. Williams says with a smile as she walks into the classroom, a large cardboard box in her arms. Almost everyone in the class simultaneously straightened up out of confusion and curiosity, almost wondering where Liam and Claire, her 16 month old twins (she rarely came to class without one or the other, usually both).

"Uhm, Mrs. Williams? Aren't you forgetting something like – I don't know, _your children?"_ Santana questioned. Mrs. Williams just laughed before reaching into the box and showing the class a baby doll.

"I appreciate your concern Santana," Mrs. Williams said with a smirk. "But for this week's assignment, I had a different direction in mind – that and the fact that my ex-husband is filing for sole custody – something about not using our children as teaching tools, I don't know, I still have to talk to my lawyer."

Quinn, Santana, Rachel and Mercedes eyebrows arched simultaneously in confusion, unsure whether or not this teacher was even sane anymore, while Puck, Finn, Sam and Artie were trying to contain their laughter. "So, what's the assignment?" Quinn asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"What an _excellent_ question, Quinn Fabray," Mrs. Williams beamed. "I also think this assignment will be right up yours and Mr. Puckerman's ally," she added. Quinn and Puck simultaneously stiffened in their seats, exchanging looks of anger and offense between the two. "You and a partner will take home a baby for the week," she explained, holding up a baby doll.

"Do we get to choose our partners?" Mercedes asked, an excited smile on her face as she winked at Kurt. Rachel smiled as well, nodding to Finn.

"No, I have selected your partners for you. Anyways, your job for the rest of the week is to care for this baby doll. That includes feeding it, burping it, changing its diapers, rocking it to sleep, waking up in the middle of the night, singing it to calm it down. Each doll will randomly act up, so you have to be prepared for anything. You will each bring your child to all of your classes, and there will be some surprises in store for you and your makeshift family."

"Isn't there a rule that when the baby sleeps, you should sleep? So do we just stay home for the week?" Puck asked hopefully. Mrs. Williams shook her head.

"Absolutely not," she shot him down. "You will be marked based on your ability to work with your partner as well as work with the environment around you, no matter how crazy or loud. Your child _will_ react to its environment, and it will be challenging."

"Yeah, yeah – enough of this chit chat," Sugar Motta said with a smirk. "Who's my partner?"

"When I call your name – you and your partner will come and receive one diaper bag, one car seat, one toy of your choice and three hundred dollars in monopoly money. What you do with these supplies is up to you – but use them wisely. It's all you have for the week. You cannot trade or exchange with anyone else."

The partners were less than ideal for some people: Santana and Blaine, Brittany and Kurt, Mike and Sugar Motta, Tina and Artie and for pure dramatic effects, Quinn and Puck. Thankfully, Finn and Rachel were paired – which only made them hated by the rest of the class.

Finn thinks this is going to be an extremely long week.

* * *

**Two.**

Rachel exhaled for what felt like the millionth time as she continued to rock the baby doll back and forth. Finn's arm was thrown over his eyes in an attempt to shield himself from the stress and sounds that the tiny doll was creating. They haven't even been 'parents' for two days, and he was already fed up with the assignment.

"Finn," Rachel breathed, exhaustion evident in her tone. "Can you take her? I have to finish writing my English essay and I have to let Dolly outside." Finn outwardly groaned before all but snatching the baby from her hold and settling it haphazardly in the crook of his arm before collapsing back on the couch. The doll continued to whimper and he patted her back. Rachel sighed. "Finn, we have to pretend it's a baby. You can't hold it like that – you'll break it."

"I don't care," Finn says honestly, exhaustion evident in his tone. "Coach Beiste had us doing suicides in practice today and I'm exhausted and the last thing I wanna do is cater to a doll."

Rachel frowned, hurt evident in her brown eyes as she gently removed the doll from his grasp. "I'll do my essay later," she said quietly, pulling a blanket over Finn's body as he lay on the couch. "Get some rest – I'll go and make dinner," she added.

He felt bad that Rachel was doing most of the assignment – but he was just so tired. He didn't even want to take the parenting class in the first place, but because of the whole thing with Quinn sophomore year, his mom made him take it to teach him a valuable lesson and to be more careful with Rachel.

He just wanted to get some rest – he was exhausted from football practice after school and he just wanted to curl up with Rachel on his lap and fall asleep while watching a ridiculous musical that he doesn't pay attention to in the first place.

He was just about to drift into the land of dreams when the clinking of what sounded like pots and pans woke him from his slumber. "Rachel?" he asked, his voice slightly alarmed. He threw the blanket off his body and ran to the kitchen, taking in the sight before him. There she was, his girlfriend, a baby doll on one hip as she stood in front of the stove, stirring what he thought smelled like spaghetti sauce. "Babe, what are you doing?"

"I told you I was gonna make dinner," she said quietly. "And every time I try to put her back in her carrier – she screams bloody murder."

His lips tugged up at the side as he folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the kitchen doorframe, admiring his girlfriend. "She?" he mused.

Rachel sighs, turning around and shifting the doll to the other hip. "Barbra," she corrects with a smile. He chuckles. "Don't you dare laugh at me, Finn Hudson," she warned.

"Rach," he says tentatively, walking to where she stood. "It's just a doll…I'm sorry that I was grumpy earlier – I really am just tired. But here," he offered, extending his hands and taking the doll from her. Rachel frowned at the way he held the doll, like a football – but she was too tired to say anything. "I'll watch TV and hold it."

"_Her_," she corrected. "And I'll finish making dinner." Rachel smiled and stood on her tiptoes, placing a light kiss on Finn's lips. "Love you."

"Love you," he returned before going back to the living room.

* * *

**Three.**

He wonders how things turned so awful so quickly. One minute, he was watching the football game, anxiously waiting for his team to score the winning touch down – and the next minute; the doll is on the floor across the room. He thinks he must have thrown it when he jumped for joy when his team did win. He freezes instinctively, his eyes zeroing in on the broken doll twenty feet from him.

He's frozen with fear – his mind beginning to think of all the ways Rachel will kill him when she realizes he not only caused them to fail their assignment, but that he broke their 'child'. Unfortunately for him, he doesn't have time to react because Rachel's hovering in the doorway, her brown eyes wide and her body frozen like his own, both of them looking at the broken doll, neither of them saying a word.

Minutes (it feels like hours) pass before he feels like its necessary to break the silence. He swallows back the fear that's building up in his throat and he takes a tentative step forward, his eyes pleading with Rachel.

"I'm so sorry," he says instantly, quietly. "I guess I got a little bit too into the game and it slipped and…maybe it's not so bad, y'know, maybe I can duct tape it's leg back on?" he says hopefully.

She breaks eye contact away from the doll, slowly and angrily looking at him and it's then that he realizes she's actually _crying_. He made her cry. "You broke our baby," she said quietly, not bothering to wipe up the tears that are now rolling down her cheeks. "Oh my god," she breathes – anxiety evident in her eyes as she begins to hyperventilate. "We're going to be terrible parents."

"Wh-what?" he breathes, genuinely confused. "Are you-" he pauses, his eyes darting to her stomach. She begins to pace back and forth across the floor, completely ignoring his question of concern.

"This is a sign, Finn," she continues to mumble. "What if we get married and have a baby and we don't love it? Or what if we have a baby and then we fight all the time? What if we get married and I want a baby and you don't or if you want a baby and I don't?"

His forehead furrows together in confusion and he stiffens immediately, his nose high in the air and he inhales. "Rachel?" he says tentatively.

"What if I get pregnant and you don't love me anymore because I'm fat? What if you want a girl and I want a boy or-" she babbles.

"Rachel," he repeats, his heart beginning to race.

"I want a boy and you want a girl – will we not love the baby because it's not what we wanted?" she continues, totally disregarding the concern in his voice.

"Rachel!" he almost shouts. She abruptly stops her pacing and folds her arms across her chest, anger still evident in her features – she _hates_ it when people interrupt her ranting. She always loses her train of thought. He swallows. "What's that smell?"

Her eyes widen right on cue and they simultaneously bolt to the kitchen. He gets there first, his hands instinctively reaching for the fire extinguisher as he sprays the stove, anxious to diffuse the flames. Finally, one minute of solid spraying and every single window in the house being open, the smoke had diffused enough so that he could really see her.

After what feels like forever, she's the one to break the silence. "I can't even make you dinner," she says quietly. "I'm going to be a terrible wife and a terrible mother. You should just stop humoring me and tell me I'm not your girlfriend anymore. How could you want to be with someone that can't even cook for you?" she reckons.

It's Finn's turn to get angry. "Rachel Barbra Berry," he says firmly. The surprise is evident on her features. He's _never_ used her full name. "The only way you won't be my girlfriend anymore is if by some bizarre reason, you agree to be my fiancé and then eventually my wife."

He crosses the kitchen in three strides and he's standing in front of her now, his hands cupping her face gently, his eyes locking with hers. "_You_ will be an amazing mother," he promises her. "And I can't wait for you to be my wife one day."

"But the doll…" she trails off.

"I don't think a doll made of plastic that runs on batteries for a school assignment is the same as a Finchel baby," he tells her with a smile, her favorite smile, his Rachel smile. She returns the gesture and suddenly her arms are wrapped around his neck and her lips are on his.

She pulls away first, their foreheads resting against one another. "Finchel babies," she breathes, happiness evident in her tone before he wraps his arms around her, smiling into her hair.

"Lots of them," he promises.

* * *

**Four.**

"What did everyone take away from this assignment?" Mrs. Williams asked hopefully, taking a seat on the edge of her desk as her eyes took in the exhausted appearances of her class.

"That I was right all along," Quinn amended with a smile. "Puck would be a great dad."

Puck just smirked and nodded in agreement, winking at Quinn seductively. "Quinn is a total MILF."

"They cry too much," Brittany said quietly. "But I hope that one day I'll be as good of a mom as Kurt was to our baby."

"Blaine's mother is totally going to smother her grandchild," Santana says with a smile. Mrs. William's smiled and turned her attention to Finn who gave Rachel's hand a small squeeze before answering the question.

"Being a parent is a huge responsibility," Finn admits. "But I wouldn't have been able to make it this far in the assignment without Rachel. She'll be an amazing wife and an even better mother."

The rest of the class was spent going over everyone's favorite and least favorite parts of the assignment – everyone was in agreement that when they handed their babies in, they were going to go home and sleep for a year.

When class was finally over, Finn and Rachel exited hand in hand, both of them breathing sighs of relief that the assignment was over. Naturally, they're the first ones to arrive in the choir room. "Everyone else won't be here for another fifteen minutes or so," Finn says, eyeing the clock.

"That's good because I actually thought we could sing a quick song together," Rachel said quietly. Before he had time to be confused, the music begun to play, and Rachel's soft voice emanated throughout the empty choir room.

"_They say we're young and we don't know," _she's smiling at him and he smiles back, tapping his feet to the beat as he readies himself for his part. "_We won't find out until we grow."_

"_Well I don't know if all that's true," _Finn begins, taking Rachel's hand in his own, unable to stop the smile that falls on his lips when he watches her dance around him. "_Cause you got me, and baby I got you."_

* * *

_**Five.**_

Rachel Hudson couldn't help but smile as all five of her kids tried to talk over one another. It was family night at the Hudson household and that means game night plus movie night or as Finn liked to call it "chaos". Despite the protests Rachel often received from her two eldest children, she could easily tell that this quality time meant just as much to them as it meant to her. As expected, when it comes time to pick the movie, there are small arguments, disagreements and threats of bodily harm or dismemberment.

"No. No way," Ethan insisted, holding a movie out of his sister's reach. He was seventeen years old, so it wasn't like it was out of the ordinary for him to disagree with his younger siblings. "There's no way I'm gonna sit here for almost four hours while you and mom cry over _Gone with the Wind."_

Aria rolled her eyes before chucking a pillow at her big brother and quickly grabbing the movie back from out of his hand. She was fifteen years old and was just as dramatic as Rachel was at her age, if not more. The only girl in the family for nearly twelve years, she learned to disagree with her brothers even if there was a part of her that agreed. "First of all, I'm fully capable of maintaining my emotions during a classic film Second of all, it's not your turn to pick this week and even if it was, I didn't complain last week when you insisted that we all watch _Fight Club_."

"_Fight Club_ is a classic."

"So is _Gone with the Wind_."

"Boys," Finn intervened from his spot beside Rachel, looking to their thirteen year old fraternal twins Luke and Nicholas as they sat quietly on the floor. "What do you think we should watch?"

"_Inception_!" Luke shouted.

"_The Lord of the Rings!" _Nicholas said.

"Oh my god, family night will be the death of me. I just know it," Aria insisted dramatically lying down on the floor.

"I wouldn't mind watching _Funny Girl..._" Rachel said coyly, a smile on her face.

"No!"

"Nope."

"No way."

"Not a chance."

"It's not even funny."

"Fine," Rachel pouted, curling into Finn. His chest rumbled with laughter beneath her cheek and she couldn't help but smile as he kissed the top of her head with as much love and adoration as he did when they first met nearly twenty-five years ago. "Well, we have to decide on something sooner or later so what's it gonna be?"

"What about me?" a small voice asked. Everybody's attention simultaneously turned to the small figure that stood in the door frame. Her brown hair was tousled from tossing and turning but fell in big ringlets around her shoulders, her big amber eyes were glistening with exhaustion and her teddy bear was tucked securely underneath her arm.

Finn and Rachel smiled at their youngest child. "And just what do you think you're doing out of bed, little princess?" Finn asked playfully. Everyone watched as a light blush crept over her small and chubby cheeks before she smiled sheepishly.

"I want to pick a movie for family night," Sophie said quietly.

Ethan ran his hand over his face in exasperation and groaned. "Awesome, the fate of my Saturday night is in the hands of a five year old."

"And yet somehow I trust her more than I trust you," Aria shot back before turning to her baby sister. "What movie did you want to watch Soph?"

Sophie pretended to think about it for a moment before responding_, "Finding Nemo!"_

Finn and Rachel watched as Ethan, Aria, Luke and Nicholas all resigned to the fact that _Finding Nemo_ would be the movie they watched on that particular family night. Without another word, Sophie climbed up into Rachel's lap and snuggled into both of her parents as Aria put the movie in.

"See, I told you," Finn whispered halfway through the movie. Rachel lifted her head from his shoulder and looked up at him quizzically, a question in her eyes. He looked around the room at their kids: Ethan sprawled out on the floor, Luke playing with his phone, Nicholas doing a puzzle and Aria snuggling with Sophia on the couch, Finn smiled at his wife. "Finchel babies."

Rachel smiled back. "Lots of them."


End file.
